Photo of Pinehurst No.5 Golf Course

Pinehurst No.5 Golf Course

1 Carolina Vista Drive,

Village of Pinehurst, North Carolina NC 28374

  • Office

    +1 (855) 235 8507
  • Pro shop

    +1 (910) 235 8141
  • Fax

    +1 (910) 255 3360
  • Golf pro

    Eric Alpenfels (Head Academy Instructor)
  • Academy

    Pinehurst Golf Academy

About the course

  • The Course:

    18 holes. Tree-lined & open parkland. Undulating terrain - a few slopes to climb.

  • Surroundings:

    Woodland and residential.

  • Designer:

    Original design by Ellis Maples (1961); subsequent modifications by Robert Trent Jones Sr (1974).

Back
tees
Club
tees
Front
tees
Yards
6848
6211
5248
Par
72
72
72
SSS or slope
73.2
70.1
70.3

At the same location:

Fanning out from Pinehurst Resort's impressive clubhouse, are five of the Resort's ten 18-hole golf courses: No.1 course (par-70, 6089 yds from back tees); No.2 course (U.S. Open venue, par-72, 7588 yds); No.3 course (par-70, 5722 yds); No.4 course (par-72, 7117 yds); No.5 course (par-72, 6848 yds). Also adjacent to the clubhouse is the 9-hole Cradle course (par-27, 789 yds, designed by Gil Hanse) and 18-hole Thistle Dhu putting course.

Located within two miles of this central clubhouse, and separate from each other, are four more Pinehurst Resort courses: No.6 course (par-72, 7053 yds); No.7 course (par-72, 7216 yds); No.8 course (Centennial, par-72, 7092 yds) and No.9 course (formerly National GC, par-72, 7118 yds).

5 miles to the south lies the Resort's newest 18-hole course, the Tom Doak designed No.10 (formerly The Pit Golf Links).

Location

Latitude:

35.178864

Longitude:

-79.473665

How to get there:

1 mile W of Pinehurst Traffic Circle

From the Pinehurst traffic circle (intersection of the US-15-501, 211 and 2) follow the 2-West direction Pinehurst. After 1.3 miles turn left into Carolina Vista Drive. After 300 yards parking is on your right (bag drop straight ahead).

Pinehurst No.5 Golf Course

3-PLUS: Good course - several memorable features; worthy of 3½ stars.

Est. 1961

Pinehurst No.5 Golf Course: Ellis Maples, a protégé of the great Donald Ross, designed Pinehurst's No.5 course. Although one of the less celebrated of the resort's nine courses, it is in fact one of the most played. For the most part the layout is imbued with classic sandhills characteristics, where the gently undulating holes sit on a sandy base, attractively lined by mature pines.

The No.5 course shares a close relationship with its sibling, Pinehurst No.3. Both occupy the softly undulating terrain on the west side of Hwy 5 (Beulagh Hill Road). Their opening holes set off side-by-side from Pinehurst's large and impressive clubhouse, while the par-4 18th of No.5 returns alongside the par-4 2nd of No.3. A few of the original holes from No.3 were in fact absorbed by No.5, requiring Maples to design one or two replacement holes on his mentor's No.3 layout.

With generally good-width fairways, "flatter" bunkering and not overly undulating greens, the layout arguably has a less intimidating demeanour than some of its Pinehurst stablemates. There's not too much water to worry about, although it's in play on the par-3 13th and 15th holes; ponds must be crossed to reach the safety of the respective greens.

Water also makes a somewhat unexpected appearance as you approach the 11th green, where a large attractive lake opens up before you. The par-4 12th takes you back up the hill and away from the lake, just as quickly as the 11th brought you down to it.

Pinehurst's No.5 course is certainly more forgiving than some of its Sandhills neighbours. For mid or high handicappers, and social or family golf, its just the ticket. And if you feel you need a change of scene from all those pine-tree lined fairways that so characterise Pinehurst courses, the middle section on No.5's front-nine exudes a pleasantly open feel.

Stay&Play at Pinehurst Resort: three historic Pinehurst Resort hotels (Carolina Hotel, Holly Inn and Manor Inn) are located o.5 mi from the golf clubhouse, from which courses No.1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 radiate out (see Where2Stay section below).

List of courses: Pinehurst, NC
  • Photo of Pinehurst No.5 Golf Course
  • Photo of Pinehurst No.5 Golf Course
  • Photo of Pinehurst No.5 Golf Course
  • Photo of Pinehurst No.5 Golf Course
  • Photo of Pinehurst No.5 Golf Course
  • Photo of Pinehurst No.5 Golf Course

Visitors

Who can play and when?

Visitors welcome on weekdays and weekends.

Must book in advance. Non-resort guests can only book 1-day ahead.

Green fees

Contact club/resort for information on golf rates and Stay&Play packages.

Other information

Non-metal spike facility. Walking permitted. Caddies available.

Practice facilities

Excellent

Did you know?

The No.5 course was designed by Ellis Maples, a protégé of Donald Ross, the legendary architect whose name will forever be linked to Pinehurst. Not only did Ross expose Maples to the profession of golf architecture, he was also a guiding light in young Maples' personal development.

A combination of playability, access and economics makes the No.5 course the most played of all the nine Pinehurst resort courses. It averages 55,000 rounds a year. When No.5 was built in 1961, it absorbed a few of the southernmost holes from the No.3 course. For example, the par-3 15th on No.5, known as the Cathedral Hole because of the tall pines framing the green, started life as the 6th on the No.3 course.

Where2Stay

  • The Carolina Hotel5-star

    Carolina Vista Drive, Village of Pinehurst, NC 28374

    +1 (910) 295 6811

    Visit website

    The Carolina opened in 1901 and is a world-class hotel. Dubbed the Queen of the South, it has 210 rooms and 12 suites, and is located just a few hundred yards from the historic Village of Pinehurst, and five of the nine Pinehurst Resort championship golf courses (which share the same stunning clubhouse) just across Cherokee Road.

    • Golf at this hotel:

      Pinehurst Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 (all located at Pinehurst Resort clubhouse, o.4 mi from hotel).

    • Golf within 5 miles:

      Pinehurst Nos. 6, 7, 8, 9 & 10; Pine Needles; Mid Pines; Talamore; Mid South; Longleaf; Pinewild (Magnolia and Holly courses); The Carolina; Southern Pines.

    • Golf within 20 miles:

      Whispering Pines (East and West courses); Little River; Tobacco Road (25 miles).

  • The Manor Inn

    Village of Pinehurst, NC 28374

    +1 (910) 295 6811

    Visit website

    The Manor opened in 1923 and offers casual accommodation with its 45 guest rooms and popular Pinehurst sports bar - Hackers at Pinehurst.

    • Golf at this hotel:

      No

    • Golf within 5 miles:

      Pinehurst Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 & 10; Pine Needles; Mid Pines; Talamore; Mid South; Longleaf; Pinewild (Magnolia and Holly courses); The Carolina; Southern Pines.

    • Golf within 20 miles:

      Whispering Pines (East and West courses); Little River; Tobacco Road (25 miles).

Find a course

Or

Tournaments

124th US Open: the No.2 Course at Pinehurst once again plays host to this most illustrious championship (June 13-16). Wyndham Clark defends his title, having won at Los Angeles CC in 2023.

79th Women’s US Open: the second women’s major championship of the season gets underway at Lancaster CC in Pennsylvania. It’s the second time the championship has been held here.
(May 30-June 2).

Who's Who

Nelly Korda: won the Mizuho Americas Open (May 16-19) at Liberty National GC, continuing her extraordinary form in LPGA events. This was her sixth win in seven starts in 2024.

Xander Schauffele: recorded his first major championship win, and second record-equalling low score of 62 in a major. Only he, Branden Grace, Rickie Fowler and Shane Lowry have achieved this feat in a men’s major championship.

Marco Simone Golf & Country Club

Marco Simone Golf & Country Club: With a clubhouse that might befit a Roman Emperor, and a golf course to match, you can be sure of a memorable outing at Rome's most talked about golf facility.

Jim Fazio's original layout was much changed to create a modern Ryder Cup course ... now one of the Eternal City's (and Italy's) most revered.

Prince's Golf Club, Kent (UK)

Here at Prince’s Golf Club you'll find 27 excellent holes of links golf. Just over the fence and sharing similar terrain is Royal St George’s; but Prince’s is far from overshadowed by its venerable neighbour. The three nine-hole loops at Prince's, laid out over gently undulating terrain, are sure to bring a smile of satisfaction to all lovers of links golf.

Stay&Play at Prince's: excellent onsite Lodge accommodation available

Popular videos

You can subscribe to the Where2Golf channel on YT if you like to see more video content. You'll find a "Subscribe" button on any of our YouTube videos. Or if you want a quick and direct access subscribe here. Once done, any new published videos will show up in your Subscriptions feed.

Whistling Straits (Wisconsin, US)

Hamburger GC - Falkenstein, Germany

Littlestone Golf Club (Kent, UK)